Teff is a cultivated grain of the ancient grass, Fragostis tef, native to Ethiopia since around 4000BC. This hardy and versatile food source produces tiny seeds (less than a millimetre in diameter).
Grown in remote parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Teff thrives in all climates, including both water logged soils and droughts. It grows quickly and just one handful of Teff seeds is enough to sow a whole field. The grain is resistant to other common cereal crop diseases and it cooks quickly, therefore requiring less fuel.
The grains are red/brown, yellow/brown or ivory in colour and tend to be eaten whole due to their size. The ground grains produce flours of different flavours, with the whiter variant being the mildest and the darker red Teff flour having a more earthy taste.
In Ethiopia, ground Teff is fermented to make spongy sourdough bread called Injera. In the Western World, Teff is becoming popular as an alternative to wheat flour due to it being naturally gluten free. With a protein content of 11g per 100g Teff flour is useful for making bread, pancakes or wraps, in combination with other gluten free flours and starches. The lovely rich red/brown colour of Teff flour works well to give colour to a gluten free loaf, however, use sparingly unless you want a pink-tinged crumb.
Really enjoying your GF flour series Nikki! I like the sound of using fermented teff to make bread 🙂
Teff is one of my favourites, actually. I use it in my bread making blend with sorghum and quinoa. The red teff gives a lovely rich colour to the loaf, as long as you don’t use too much.
I’m currently grain free but like the idea of introducing fermented grains at some point…
I love teff flour! I use 2 cups rice blend and 1 cup teff flour in my bread recipe. I make about 5 loaves a week. Lots of gluten free people in my family!
How do you find the rice flour, i find it a bit gritty and dry.
I use a blend of tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, and white rice flour. So ghe tapioca and sweet rice flour are very finely ground. Very powdery. I do not care for bread made with just rice flours. Too sweet or somehing. The teff makes it darker with a much better flavor.
Grrrr. Sorry for the typos on my phone!
I use tapioca and sweet rice. I like thrm, though not too much sweet rice as it can be very sticky.
I’d give that a shot. I wonder how it would do in pancakes or tortillas.